Deputy Gets the Axe for Making Jail Inmates Dance to Usher Song

One inmate did the worm; another did the robot

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A group of jail inmates were forced to dance to Usher's "Yeah!" in exchange for phone and microwave privileges. The deputy who commanded the dancing was fired this week.

Updated at 7:16 AM CDT on Friday, May 4, 2012

A sheriff's deputy in Ohio has been fired for ordering jail inmates to dance to an Usher song in exchange for making phone calls and using a microwave.

Dominic Martucci, 35, was fired from his post at the Summit County sheriff's office this week, and the departmental charges against him — including ones of misconduct and of mistreating inmates — were released Wednesday, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

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He's accused of making five inmates entertain him with a dance to Usher's "Yeah!" in order to regain privileges — like the chance to make phone calls, use a microwave and get items from the commissary — that they had lost earlier in the day.

One inmate did the worm, and another busted out the robot.

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"I did what I had to do so I could use the phone," the inmate who responded to the command with robot moves told investigators, according to the Beacon Journal. He had to call his family because a relative had died.

Martucci allegedly called over another deputy and said, "Stop and watch this, it’s going to be funny."

The inmates told investigators that their dance routine audience included as many as five deputies. One inmate said that he was sent to lockdown because he had "messed up" and that Martucci demanded he dance to his liking.

Martucci admitted that his actions were wrong but insisted he was just trying to "lighten the tension" in the jail by forcing the inmates to dance, the Beacon Journal reported.

"The community needs to be assured that all inmates that come the doors of the Summit County Jail will be treated humanely and with respect," a department spokesman said.